MLS All-Star voting open, with eight Rapids players on fan ballot

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – Voting has opened for the 2014 MLS All-Star Game, which will take place on August 6, at Providence Park in Portland, Oregon, and eight Rapids players are on the fan ballot for the match against legendary German club Bayern Munich. Fans can vote at www.MLSsoccer.com.

Rapids players including goalkeeper Clint Irwin, defenders Chris Klute, Drew Moor, and Shane O’Neill, midfielders José Mari and Dillon Powers, and forwards Deshorn Brown and Vicente Sánchez are among the 152 players nominated by the media to the fan ballot. For all eight Rapids players on the fan ballot, the 2014 match would be their first MLS All-Star match. Colorado’s last All-Star was Omar Cummings in 2011.

Fans may vote online HERE through July 11 at 3 p.m. ET and via Twitter from July 2-6. Eleven players – one goalkeeper, three defenders, four midfielders and three forwards – with the highest combined votes will be named to the All-Star Fan XI.

The 11th player – a forward – will be determined by the AT&T/EA SPORTS™ “More than a Vote” Challenge. Fans have the opportunity to vote one forward into the 2014 AT&T MLS All-Star Game by scoring goals in EA SPORTS FIFA 14 on the Xbox One, PlayStation®4, Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system, and the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system. The forward with the most votes – one goal equals one vote – on July 11 will occupy the final forward spot on the All-Star Fan XI.

All-Star head coach Caleb Porter of the Portland Timbers will choose the game day roster and the starting lineup against Bayern Munich on August 6. The first marquee MLS event to be held at Providence Park will be broadcast live on ESPN2, UniMas, and in Canada on TSN and RDS, starting at 9:30 p.m. ET.

A total of 32 All-Stars are named each year, per the collective bargaining agreement. Media, fans, players, the All-Star coach and MLS Commissioner Don Garber all contribute in the All-Star selection process.

The 32 players named 2014 AT&T MLS All-Stars will be selected in four phases:

1. Ballot creation: Media members determined the field of players – eight players per team – who are most deserving of consideration for this year’s AT&T MLS All-Star Game. Those players are eligible for fan voting.

2. Fan voting: From May 28 through July 11, fans will select the “Fan XI” All-Stars. Fans can vote via any of three platforms:

b. Via Twitter: from July 2 at 9 a.m. ET until July 6 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Full details of Twitter voting will be released on MLSsoccer.com in the near future

c. Via the AT&T / EA SPORTS “More than a Vote” Challenge: fans will score as many goals as possible with their favorite MLS All-Star forward candidate in FIFA 14, with one goal equaling one vote. The forward with the most votes will occupy one of the forward spots on the All-Star Fan XI.

3. Team selection: The MLS All-Star head coach will select the game day roster from the pool of eligible players, consisting of the Fan XI, MLS Commissioner Don Garber’s two selections and players who received votes from at least two players.

The Commissioner selections and game day roster will be announced on July 19 or 21.

4. Player selections: MLS players will determine the remainder of the 32 All-Stars named annually per the CBA (known as the “inactive roster”).

The final list of 32 All-Stars (4 goalkeepers, 8 defenders, 13 midfielders and 7 forwards) will be announced on MLSsoccer.com on August 6.